The Voices that Led Me Home

A Poem

I’ll be okay

I’m tired of chasing the sound of voices that are not my own.

They lead me in circles.

I ask the same questions over and over again.

The echoes bounce off of the space inside of me.

The space left by unanswered questions.

I go back and forth between choices.

My footsteps clouding the sound of my own heartbeat

The steady rhythm that is my own.

I’ve escaped the noise since then.

I’ve retreated to the sound of birds

And the rustling of leaves.

But in these silent moments, the ghostly voices haunt me

I find myself running

Through the peaceful landscape, to try to escape them

I run straight back into the confusion

Armed with a pen and a conviction to put an end to the madness

Only to be gently dissuaded by the little sparrow that lands on the chair next to me

I’ll be okay.

This is not the time to chase ghosts

I am reassured that I am far from the voices and the echoes now.

But although I might be out of reach for them, the challenge comes from the part of myself I run from.

It’s time to clear out the food I’ve been feeding them all along.

To clear the space, not to fill it again.

But to be.

The path I’ve been looking for is my own.

Making this space my home again.

Making ME a lovely place to be.